Friendship Similarity During Early Adolescence: Gender and Racial Patterns

We studied the relationship of reciprocity, gender, and racial composition (Caucasian, African American, cross-race) of adolescent friendship dyads to similarity and proximity in 136 young adolescents. We found that adolescents selected friends who were of the same gender and race and that female dyads were more similar than male dyads on verbal achievement and several personality dimensions. Caucasian dyads were more similar than African American dyads on verbal achievement, mental alertness, and dominance. African American adolescents had more contact with their best friends outside school, whereas Caucasian adolescent friends had more in-school contact. African American students had fewer reciprocal relationships than the Caucasian students. Cross-race friendships were less reciprocal than same-race friendships. Race and gender were important in determining friendship patterns. Similarity and proximity were more important than reciprocity in understanding early adolescent friendships.     

Emotion understanding,pictorial representations of friendship and reciprocity in school-aged children

This study examined the relationship between emotional understanding, friendship representation and reciprocity in school-aged children. Two hundred and fifty-one Caucasian 6-year-old children (111 males and 140 females) took part in the study. The Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and the Pictorial Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (PAIR) were used. Children having a reciprocal friendship and children having a unilateral friendship with a child named as their “best friend” were compared on the emotional understanding task and on their pictorial representations of friendship. Multilevel analyses indicated that friendship status effects were not influenced by classroom-level differences. Results showed that children with reciprocal friendships drew themselves as more similar to and more cohesive with their best friends, and they showed better understanding of emotions, than children having a unilateral friendship. Finally, the implications of these findings for theoretical and empirical research development on friendship are discussed.     

Adolescent–parent attachment characteristics and quality of youth sport friendship

ObjectivesTo examine the link between security of adolescent–parent attachment relationships and experiences of friendship quality in male team sport participants.Design and methodNinety six male adolescents involved in team sports completed self-report assessments of relationship security with a key parental attachment figure and of the nature of their friendship with a nominated sporting best friend. Teammates and coaches also provided ratings related to how easy they found it to get along with participants.ResultsResults provided evidence that the nature of the adolescent–parent attachment relationship was significantly related to sporting friendship experiences. More secure adolescent–parent attachment characteristics corresponded to more positive sporting friendships. Furthermore, sporting friendship dyads where both friends reported more secure attachment relations with parents were experienced more positively than dyads where both friends were less securely attached to parents or even where one friend was less securely attached.ConclusionThere is a suggestion that adolescent attachment relations with parents are indicative of underpinning working models of attachment that may subsequently influence the manner in which youngsters negotiate friendships in sporting contexts.     

青少年最亲密同性友伴的相似性

选取１０４０名北京市小六、初二和高一学生,探讨青少年与最亲密同性友伴的相似性,及性别组合、年级组合和单双向选择对最亲密同性友伴相似性的影响。要求被试提名一个与自己同校的最亲密友伴,并完成一份包括１７个方面的问卷。最后得到４２７对最亲密同性友伴。最亲密同性友伴的相似性超过非友伴。最亲密同性友伴在逃学或离家出走、吸烟饮酒等行为方面最相似,在参与活动方面的相似性次之,家庭社会经济地位、遵从友伴、学习与教育期望的相似性最低。性别组合、年级组合对最亲密同性友伴某些方面的相似性有明显影响,而单双向选择对最亲密同性友伴的相似性无明显影响。     

A Multimethod Exploration of the Friendships of Children Considered Socially Withdrawn by Their School Peers

Friendships of children considered socially withdrawn by their school peers were investigated within a population of elementary school children. Reciprocal friends were identified by a friendship nomination procedure; social withdrawal was assessed by peer nominations. Trained graduate students rated videotapes of dyads of friends (n = 58 dyads, of which 29 contained at least one withdrawn child) for selected features of friendship quality. In addition, each friend within a dyad provided ratings of the quality of the relationship. The videotaped data showed the withdrawn children to be somewhat restricted in their verbal communication with their friends, and less competitive with their friends, than were friends in a comparison group. In dyads consisting of one withdrawn and one nonwithdrawn child, the withdrawn child perceived the relationship as characterized by greater closeness and helpfulness than did the nonwithdrawn friend. Despite some signs of inhibited behavior within the friendship context, withdrawn children seem to have access to close friendships of high quality.     

The best friendships of aggressive boys: relationship quality, conflict management, and rule-breaking behavior

The current study examined the best friendships of aggressive and nonaggressive boys (N = 96 boys, 48 dyads, mean age = 10.6 years). Friends completed self-report measures of friendship quality, and their interactions were observed in situations that required conflict management and provided opportunities for rule-breaking behavior. Although there were no differences in boys' self-reports of friendship quality, observers rated nonaggressive boys and their friends as showing greater positive engagement, on-task behavior, and reciprocity in their interactions compared with aggressive boys and their friends. Aggressive boys and their friends provided more enticement for rule violations and engaged in more rule-breaking behavior than did nonaggressive boys and their friends. Also, the intensity of negative affect in observed conflicts between aggressive boys and their friends was greater than that between nonaggressive boys and their friends. The findings suggest that friendships may provide different developmental contexts for aggressive and nonaggressive boys.     

Friendships and Romantic Relationships of Black and White Adolescents

Prior research on adolescent peer relationships has focused on interpersonal dimensions of friendships but not of romantic relationships, and has rarely examined minority groups. We used a random sample of 122 adolescents to examine race and gender differences in friendships, romantic relationships, and the congruence between closest friendship and romantic relationship on five interpersonal domains: mutual support, self-disclosure, hurtful conflict, fear of betrayal, and interpersonal sensitivity. Significant race by gender differences in the difference between relationship type for both positive and negative dimensions of relationships were found. White girls reported significantly higher levels of self-disclosure in their friendship ties in comparison to romantic relationship, whereas white boys reported nearly equivalent levels. In comparison to white adolescents, Black adolescent girls and boys had similar levels of self-disclosure in their romantic relationships as their same-sex friendships. With regards to negative elements of relationships, girls reported more hurtful conflict in romance than friendship, whereas boys reported an opposite pattern. Results highlight the importance of consideration of race and gender influences on youth interpersonal skills within peer and romantic relationships.     

Interpersonal Competition in Friendships

Though ubiquitous in American life, competition has been neglected in studies of friendship. Conceiving of interpersonal competition as a dyadic process motivated by self-evaluation, the authors analyzed survey data from a random sample of 162 undergraduates at a US college who were asked about their closest friends of the same and opposite sex. Results indicated that male friendship dyads were most competitive followed by cross-sex and female dyads. Among same-sex friends, competition was negatively associated with academic class and positively associated with number of role relationships. Intimacy and companionship had positive effects and competition and conflict had negative effects on friendship satisfaction. Due to lower intimacy and greater competition in male friendships, men were less satisfied with same-sex friends than women.     

The role of friends in career compromise: Same-gender friendship intensifies gender differences in educational choice

We propose a mechanism of how the desire to maintain friendships can intensify gender differences in educational choice. The required conditions for this mechanism would be that (1) adolescent males and females differ in their overall educational preferences, (2) wanting to stay close to friends motivates some adolescents to adjust their educational choice in line with their friends' choices, and (3) adolescents have a higher share of same-gender, than other-gender, friends. Study 1 confirmed that these criteria were met, and Study 2 found an association between friendship priority and gender typed field of study. In conclusion, adjusting educational choices in order to maintain friendships put adolescents at risk of compromising their true career interests, and also becomes an obstacle to a gender balanced labor market.     

朋友的学业成就会影响我的学业成就吗？——成对友谊关系中成就目标取向的中介作用

尽管朋友是影响青少年学业成就的重要因素,但对于朋友之间双向影响的方式和途径尚缺乏研究。本研究采用同伴提名和自我报告问卷收集了8年级青少年在两个学期末的数据,获得在一个学期中稳定的同性别朋友对216对;使用主客体互倚性模型,探究朋友之间学业成就的影响效应,以及成就目标取向在朋友相互影响间的中介作用以及性别差异。结果发现：（1）青少年朋友之间在学业成就上的相似性既源于选择效应,也源于影响效应;（2）掌握目标取向不仅在个体自身当前和后续学业成就的关系中发挥中介作用,而且朋友一方的学业成就还能通过自身或对方的掌握目标取向影响对方或自己后续的学业成就,男生的中介路径多于女生;（3）对于男生而言,表现-接近目标取向在个体当下学业成就和自己后续学业成就的关系中发挥负向中介作用,但对朋友后续的学业成就有积极影响。研究结果支持了成对友谊关系是青少年学业发展的重要情境之一,并突显了成就目标取向在朋友之间学业成就相互影响中的关键作用和性别差异模式。     

Minority children's intergroup attitudes about peer relationships

Intergroup attitudes were assessed in African‐American (N=70) and non‐African‐American minority (N=80) children, evenly divided by gender, in first (M=6.5 years old) and fourth (M=9.6 years old) grades attending mixed‐ethnicity public schools in a suburban area of a large mid‐Atlantic city in the USA. Children were interviewed to test hypotheses about implicit racial biases, perceptions of similarity between peer dyads, and judgments about cross‐race friendships. Implicit racial biases emerged when children evaluated ambiguous picture cards, with children viewing a White child as more likely to be a transgressor than a Black child in certain situations. There were no racial biases when evaluating potential cross‐race friendship (it was judged to be feasible); nor was there any evidence of an outgroup homogeneity effect. Children who used ethnicity as a reason for judging peers to be similar, however, were less likely to judge that the cross‐race dyads could be friends. The findings indicate the ways in which minority children's judgments about the majority and their perceptions of similarity between peer dyads influence their interpretations of peer interactions.     

Lonely Adolescents and Their Best Friend: An Examination of Loneliness and Friendship Quality in Best Friendship Dyads

Friendship experiences have been shown to be important predictors of adolescents’ loneliness. The current study examined selection and socialization effects of loneliness within reciprocal best friendships, while controlling for friendship quality. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 884 adolescents (42.08% boys), making up 442 dyads, who were on average 13.51 years old (SD?=?1.37). Adolescents completed the peer-related loneliness subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents as well as the Friendship Qualities Scale. A longitudinal actor-partner interdependence model, which accounts for the interdependencies in the data of best friends, suggested the presence of a selection effect for loneliness but no socialization effect. This finding within best friendships contrasts with studies on friendship networks where both selection and socialization were established.     

Do African American Male and Female Adolescents Differ in Technological Engagement?: The Effects of Parental Encouragement and Adolescent Technological Confidence

African Americans, especially African American women, remain one of the most underrepresented groups in technology-based degrees and careers. However, little is known about whether gender differences permeate African American adolescents’ engagement in technology in earlier development, such as in middle and high school (ages 12–18). Drawing on an ecological and intersectional framework, we examined if African American male and female adolescents differed in technological engagement and what contextual factors affected their engagement. We hypothesized that parental encouragement would be associated with greater technological confidence in adolescents, which would be linked to more experiences with and interests in technology. Further, we investigated if these associations would vary by adolescents’ and parents’ gender. Survey data from 1041 African American parent-adolescent dyads highlighted that adolescents had less experience and interest with technical activities than with creative activities, especially among female adolescents. More parents encouraged adolescent sons but limited daughters to use technology, yet female adolescents reported greater technological confidence. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that adolescents’ technological confidence mediated the positive association between parental encouragement and adolescents’ technological engagement across all parent-adolescent dyads, but with some nuances. Our findings suggest that prospective gender studies and educational programs should consider the influences of parenting and gender on promoting African American adolescents’ technological involvement and confidence.

     

Friendship factors and suicidality: common and unique patterns in Mexican American and European American youth

Research suggests a link between friendships and suicidality among U.S. youth, but this link has not been confirmed across ethnicities. The relationship between friendships and suicidality among Mexican American and European American adolescents was examined in this study. Specifically, the role of friendship problems (i.e., social isolation, poor quality friendships) and problematic friends (i.e., friends who were disconnected from school, delinquent friends) was explored. Participants were 648 community youth. Friends' school disconnection was related to Mexican American girls' suicidal ideation, while friends' delinquency was associated with European American youth suicidal behavior. Friendship factors were no longer associated with suicidality after controlling for suicidality correlates such as depression. These findings indicate that the relationship between friendships and suicidality varies by gender and ethnicity. They also suggest a dominant role of depression.     

Do birds of a feather flock together? The variable bases for African American, Asian American, and European American adolescents' selection of similar friends

Variability in adolescent-friend similarity is documented in a diverse sample of African American, Asian American, and European American adolescents. Similarity was greatest for substance use, modest for academic orientations, and low for ethnic identity. Compared with Asian American and European American adolescents, African American adolescents chose friends who were less similar with respect to academic orientation or substance use but more similar with respect to ethnic identity. For all three ethnic groups, personal endorsement of the dimension in question and selection of cross-ethnic-group friends heightened similarity. Similarity was a relative rather than an absolute selection criterion: Adolescents did not choose friends with identical orientations. These findings call for a comprehensive theory of friendship selection sensitive to diversity in adolescents' experiences. Implications for peer influence and self-development are discussed.     

Similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescents' friendship dyads: selection or socialization?

This study examined friendship selection and socialization as mechanisms explaining similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescent same-gender best friend dyads. The sample consisted of 1,752 adolescents (51% male) ages 12-16 years (M = 13.77, SD = 0.73) forming 487 friend dyads and 389 nonfriend dyads (the nonfriend dyads served as a comparison group). To test our hypothesis, we applied a multigroup actor-partner interdependence model to 3 friendship types that started and ended at different time points during the 2 waves of data collection. Results showed that adolescents reported levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up that were similar to those of their best friends. Socialization processes explained the increase in similarity exclusively in female dyads, whereas no evidence for friendship selection emerged for either male or female dyads. Additional analyses revealed that similarity between friends was particularly evident in the actual best friend dyads (i.e., true best friends), in which evidence for socialization processes emerged for both female and male friend dyads. Findings highlight the importance of examining friendship relations as a potential context for the development of depressive symptoms.     

Friendship and adjustment among adolescents

This study investigated the relation of friendship and emotional adjustment in adolescents. Both quantitative (popularity, mutual friendships, and number of friends) and qualitative dimensions (perceived positive friendship quality and conflict) of friendship were used. Participants were 618, mostly European American, 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. Structural equation modeling showed that positive friendship quality was the only friendship variable that predicted adjustment. An examination of gender effects indicated that this relation held only for boys. The quantitative aspects of friendship had a small, indirect effect on adjustment through their effects on positive quality. Conflict had a negative effect on positive quality and this effect was stronger for girls than for boys. The role of adolescents' perception in adjustment was highlighted and suggestions for future research were made.     

Developing a model of adolescent friendship formation on the internet.

Previous research has been largely silent about what precisely influences online friendship formation and has ignored motives for online communication as potential explanations. Drawing on a sample of 493 adolescents, this study tested a path model of adolescent friendship formation including as predictors introversion/extraversion, online self-disclosure, motive for social compensation, and frequency of online communication. Our path analysis showed that extraverted adolescents self-disclosed and communicated online more frequently, which, in turn, facilitated the formation of online friendships. Introverted adolescents, by contrast, were more strongly motivated to communicate online to compensate for lacking social skills. This increased their chances of making friends online. Among introverted adolescents, a stronger motive for social compensation also led to more frequent online communication and online self-disclosure, resulting in more online friendships. The model suggests that the antecedents of online friendship formation are more complex than previously assumed and that motives for online communication should be studied more closely.     

Daily School Context of Adolescents' Single Best Friendship and Adjustment

Research on adolescent best friendships typically focuses on school-based friendships, ignoring important differences between classroom-based and out-of-school friendships. With data from 156 ninth-grade students, many of whom named more than 1 best friend across the 14-day period, the authors examined associations between the daily school context of one's best friendship and adjustment. Benefits of in-grade best friendships were found in academic engagement when a composite was assessed across the 2-week period. Daily findings were more complex and were different between weekends and school days. Out-of-grade best friends were named more frequently on weekends, and on weekend days in which they named an out-of-school best friend participants spent more time with that friend but felt like less of a good student. Implications for our understanding of friendship context and for the measurement of friendship itself are discussed.     

Adolescents' use of affiliative and aggressive strategies during conflict with romantic partners and best-friends

Objective: Developmental theory suggests romantic relationships present unique demands when adolescents transition from the interaction patterns of same-sex friendships to cross-gender interactions. A possible response is to incorporate behaviours of the other gender: girls adopting aggressive strategies and boys adopting affiliative ones. The goal of this study is to explore this hypothesis by comparing conflict resolution among romantic couples and same-sex best friends. Method: Observational methods were employed with 37 female best friends, 22 male best friends and 37 romantic couples. Of the romantic couples, 35 also were observed with a best friend. Affiliative and aggressive behaviours were tabulated during two conflict tasks. Results: Female best friends were more affiliative than male best friends and romantic partners; these latter dyads were more aggressive than the female best friends. Within group comparisons indicated that boys and girls decreased their affiliative behaviours, especially verbal humour, and increased their aggressive behaviours, especially teasing, when observed with the romantic partner compared to the best friend. Decomposing the romantic dyad, girlfriends displayed relatively more aggressive behaviours than their boyfriends, and boyfriends exhibited more affiliative behaviours. Conclusions: Findings shed light on gendered shifts in patterns of interaction as adolescents transition from same-sex friendships to romantic relationships.